Marketing to real men

An obvious question is: haven't men changed? Aren't they all metrosexual now, proudly wearing Armani underpants and slathering themselves in moisturiser? The answer lies somewhere between 'a few of them' and 'well, no'.

The term 'metrosexual' was coined by journalist Mark Simpson in 1994 and raised to marketing stardom by Marian Salzman, now director of strategic content at JWT. The media wholeheartedly adopted her interpretation of the metrosexual, churning out reams of copy about the straight guy who was 'just gay enough'. Advertisers welcomed him with open arms, due to his taste for expensive skincare products, stylish clothes and minimalist home furnishings. His toned torso unfurled across billboards, most often in the shape of David Beckham.

One small snag, though: in real life, he barely existed. In 2006, a study by ad agency Leo Burnett Worldwide estimated that only one-fifth of the male population could truly be placed in the 'metrosexual' bracket, while the others expressed no interest in joining them. When men were asked by a Harris poll to name their role models, the top 10 responses included Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery and John Wayne. Men admire toughness, authority, responsibility and what Ernest Hemingway described as 'grace under pressure'. They aspire to power, money and status. Silky smooth skin doesn't come into it.

In terms of advertising, celebrities tend to dominate, as in the women's market, but men are particularly attracted to authenticity and accomplishment. Sports heroes always go down well, hence Gillette's latest campaign featuring Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thierry Henry. Actors need to be older and a little rougher around the edges; more Daniel Craig than Orlando Bloom. These images are trafficked by men's magazines, although they tend to be preaching to the converted. Product placement and sponsorship are far more effective ways of reaching shop-phobic males. That's why the Bond movies have become male brand juggernauts.

Nor do men shop as enthusiastically as metrosexuals are said to. They are reluctant shoppers, remaining loyal to a core selection of trusted brands. They tend to base their purchasing choices on timeless notions of authenticity, craftsmanship and performance. Few of them shop for pleasure, instead adopting a 'search and destroy' strategy. They go out looking for a raincoat and they come back with a raincoat.

Grooming

Mintel confirmed the patent lack of metrosexuality in the real world when it looked at the UK toiletries market in 2006. It concluded that men's toiletries had failed to achieve the explosive growth anticipated since the late 80s, when Shulton launched its Insignia men's range. This was supposed to herald the emergence of the 'new man', but the reality was that most were not ready to embrace a grooming regime featuring myriad products. Instead, it has been a much slower process, which, according to the report, has highlighted 'that men will never adopt the levels of interest and investment in the toiletries industry that is fuelling the women's beauty industry'.

That is not to say that the market is not growing. Mintel valued the men's toiletries market at £751m in 2005, up by 28% since 2000. But skincare made up only 6% of the total, which was dominated by fragrances (44%). According to trend-tracking service WGSN, in 2006 the UK male grooming market was worth £818m, within which skincare was the fastest-growing sector, up 14% to £68m. So men are definitely buying skin products, but on the face of the market, compared with women, they're a mere freckle.

'The fact is that men are wired differently,' says Margaret Jobling, director of male grooming at Unilever. She joined the company in summer 2006; until then it had been organised into brands and categories, so nobody had sole responsibility for male-oriented products. Jobling's role is to co-ordinate Unilever's approach to the male market. 'A lot of beauty marketing is about the power of attraction. But what do women look for in men? They look for financial stability, emotional strength, loyalty, security and, yes, a good sense of humour. Shiny hair and soft skin are a long way down the list,' she says.

From her own research into the male market she discovered that male consumers are ploddingly practical. They must be lured with functionality and performance, rather than an esoteric 'brand universe' designed to make them buy into a better life. As a result, skincare brands tend to be packaged as tools. For example, the Swiss brand Task Essential includes in its range products such as Oxywater O2 Oxygen Spray and Stop Burning aftershave. LabSeries Skincare for Men is another example. 'High-tech, high performance, high results' boasts its website, which assures the male consumer that its products are created by 'an elite team of doctors, scientists and skincare specialists'. Its products include Mega Foam Shave and Root Power Hair Tonic.

Men appreciate humour, too. Skincare brand Nickel takes a jocular approach with products such as Smooth Operator shaving gel, Fire Insurance aftershave moisturiser, Silicon Valley anti-wrinkle cream, and Morning After revitalising lotion. As Jobling observes, creating products for men is not the problem; finding the right language in which to communicate to them is the real challenge.

Then there's the retail factor, men are notoriously timid about browsing for skincare products in public. That is why male-grooming websites such as Mankind.co.uk, launched in 2001, have proved such a happy hunting ground. At the Beauty and the Brand conference in London last year, Mankind founder Hilary Andrews said: 'Men want a comfortable, fuss-free method of getting products, and the internet is the obvious choice.' She added that on the high street, women buy 50% of grooming products for the men in their life, while 98% of the products on Mankind are sold directly to men. Andrews also confirmed that men were interested in 'problem solving'. The most searched-for words on the site are a delightful litany of 'acne', 'hair loss', 'blackheads', 'oily skin' and 'dandruff'. She added that products backed by scientific data sold better.

Fashion

The buying of clothes is another area where men are notoriously reluctant to hit the shops. Consumer research conducted by Mintel over the past few years has consistently identified the fact that many men are uninterested in fashion and shopping. According to its Men's Outerwear report from January 2007, men over the age of 25 'often dislike shopping to such an extent that their partners buy the majority of menswear for them'.

The key to luring men into stores seems to be a comforting retail environment. Forget blaring music, disco balls or floor-to-ceiling mirrors, it is impeccable service and a slight hint of retro eccentricity that will work more effectively. Think of Paul Smith's stores, which are dotted with toy cars, tin robots and other ephemera; or Dunhill, whose decor reflects its heritage as the purveyor of accessories to the first motorists. At the latter's store in London, men can also have a traditional wet shave. In fact, retailers around the world have grasped that the addition of grooming facilities, coffee bars and lounges with free magazines encourages men to hang out and, potentially, spend more.

As in the grooming sector, the internet is becoming a valuable tool for marketing to men. When Yves Saint Laurent unveiled its latest collection for men last month, it did so not through a catwalk show, but through an online film. Consistently ahead of the pack in its understanding of the male market, Ralph Lauren has launched Polo.com, which includes a 'style guide' for men. There is also a UK website called Men ˆ la Mode, which bills itself as 'the first online men's designer boutique to sell current season designer men's collections and accessories from major fashion houses'.

Cooks and books

One area where men have clearly changed is in their approach to cooking. Men are marrying older or not at all, provoking a trend toward solo living. As a result, they have come to find that pizza and Pot Noodle lose their appeal after a while. Along with the rise of acceptably manly TV chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal, this has encouraged them to invest in hefty stoves, razor-sharp knives, and even the occasional cook book.

What they are not buying are novels. While newspaper readership in the UK is skewed slightly toward male readers, according to the National Readership Survey, a poll released in August 2007 by the Associated Press and IPSOS, women typically read nine books in a year, compared with only five for men. Women read more than men in all categories except history and biographies. Whether or not this proves that men are more stupid than women, targeting them via product placement in a novel is definitely not recommended.

Men and the media

Magazines for men differ drastically from women's glossies; while titles such as Vogue and Glamour lead their female readers with beautifully designed daydreams in print, men's magazines resolutely follow their audience, advising, flattering and bantering, rather than dictating.

However, men's relationship with magazines is fickle in comparison with their commitment to newspapers (both online and offline), with the readership of The Times and The Guardian, for example, skewing 57% male. The sports pages are a major draw, with such activities being part of the traditional male identity and providing a 'social oil' to use with others. It also means that brands advertising around the sports pages should ensure they are relevant.

Whichever medium a brand selects, a successful marketing campaign aimed at men should probably include one or all of the following factors: a suggestion that the product confers status or power, a feeling of authenticity, functionality and craftsmanship, a dash of science and a soupcon of humour. And don't forget, while 'cool' is a very masculine virtue, it is almost impossible to fake. But get it correct and the benefits are there to be reaped; men are loyal consumers, and brands should take care not to offend them. Understand Men 2.0, and your audience will reward you.

Hitting the target: Bond and Brioni

In his book The Man Who Saved Britain, Simon Winder writes that the James Bond novels were among the first to depict 'the brand-name consumerism that dominates our world'.

It was inevitable, then, that the films should become product-placement vehicles. Car marque Aston Martin made its debut in Goldfinger in 1964 and has appeared intermittently ever since. The pay-off came in 2007 when Britons voted Aston Martin 'the coolest brand' in a survey commissioned by Superbrands.

Swiss watch maker Omega has also benefited from its links with Bond, replacing 007's Rolex in Goldeneye in 1995. The film also marked the debut of Bond's long-running tie with Italian tailor Brioni. As costume designer Lindy Hemming explained in an interview with Time, this was not technically a product-placement deal. 'I needed 20 suits exactly the same for Bond, but also the stand-ins and the stuntmen; [Brioni chief executive] Mr Angeloni said, "I don't see any problem" and no money changed hands.' For the price of a few suits, Brioni grabbed the attention of a generation of men.

Missing the mark: Electrolux

In September 2006, Electrolux released a book called Men in Aprons, selling for £6.99 on its website. Written by a female journalist, the novel told of the travails of a housework-hating young man, who was forced to fend for himself when his girlfriend moved out, taking all the appliances with her. Each chapter ended with household tips courtesy of Electrolux. The book format was designed to get around the fact that young men are becoming harder to reach through TV ads, however, the initiative had several elements working against it. The first was that men don't think of themselves as incompetents in aprons. The second was that books are probably the worst way of reaching men. 'The books weren't designed to be sold - we gave them away,' said an Electrolux press officer, when asked how many had been purchased. Fortunately, Electrolux saved the day by giving the central character, Dan Fielding, a slot on MySpace and film versions of his domestic tips were posted on YouTube, attracting 100,000 hits so far. Electrolux says he may now even be given his own TV series.

Men: a typical lifecycle

• 18-25 Experimental, ambitious, but unfocused. Young men are constructing an identity. This results in little brand loyalty but a 'tribal' approach to fashion. Team sports are highly appreciated. Sports stars and musicians are effective brand ambassadors.
• 25-35 As their careers come into focus, men become more stable consumers. They become loyal to a carefully edited selection of brands. They tend to spend more on less. If they marry and have children, they think of themselves as mature and reliable. Team sports are replaced by gym membership.
• 35-50 More than ever, they seek performance and quality. As they enter early middle age, they are at the peak of stress and responsibility, and seek brands that save them time. If they have children, they rediscover the bonding potential of team sports. They discover additional brands thanks to their kids.
• 50-65 They consider themselves wise and experienced. They are unlikely to be fooled by newfangled or fashionable brands, although their considerable spending power makes them important consumers. Ironically, they come across fewer stores with environments that make them feel comfortable.
• 65+ Time to embark on an 'active' retirement. Some men experience a boost to curiosity and enthusiasm. The internet, travel, restaurants, home cinema and other upmarket leisure activities appeal.

Mark Tungate's book, Branded Male: Marketing to Men, published by Kogan Page, is now available. Marketing readers can get 20% off the cover price by contacting 01903 828 503 or mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quoting ref: MF313